States and the federal government should not use private prisons for various reasons. First, most of the private prisons are for-profit facilities. Therefore, they cut on expenses such as lacking enough staffing and resources, which is likely to affect inmates’ safety and quality of life. Further, while pro-private prisons note that private prisons save taxpayers’ money, studies indicate that they do not reduce costs. For instance, the day to day cost of housing an inmate in 2010 was $53.02 for private prisons compared to $48.42 for a medium-security public prison (Pedowitz, 2012). Also, prisoners do not receive similar kinds of treatment in private facilities. While they may be suitable for the local economy, such as offering job opportunities, lowering costs by private facilities leaves inmates sick and not well cared for (NPR Staff, 2011).
